What's on TV anyway?

It's been quite a while since I've had cable.
Murphy too.
Years in fact.
This fact always sends my students for a loop.
They're shocked that I survived in the world without cable for so long.
It really wasn't that difficult.
I had high-speed cable and Netflix,
what more could I need?


Oh wait.
There's this channel called HGTV
and another one called The Food Network.



I could watch a marathon of Property Brothers,
Love it or List it,
and Chopped
any day and every day of the week.
Man, I totally forgot how awesome Chopped was
...that's a show that's not on Netflix.

One of the main problems with not having cable for so long,
is that I have literally NO IDEA what times or channel the shows are on.
No idea at all.
Now, sure.
I could look up each one and find out,
but who has time for that!
Thankfully there are people out there who do
and they have created plenty of show premier list to help me out.

To find out when my favorite shows are on and set my DVR accordingly,
I used two lists.
The first one is from a fabulous site, named and designed to distract, Distractify.
TV Show Premiere List 2015

The second site is one that I visit every day
                    ...It's really how I know that is happening in the world.
Sad, but true.
Buzzfeed.
There is a page for news and politics,
so it really does inform.
It's just fabulous and helps fill the section of my brain
dedicated to "useless" but useful information and "facts".
2015 TV Premiere Dates

So what will I be watching this season?
Well, I have set my DVR for these shows,
but if there is something that I'm really missing out on
please let me know.
I have a lot to catch up on!
Since the sun sets so early,
it's amazing how much time I have to binge watch shows.

Tonight- Sunday, January 4th
The Good Wife- 9pm CBS
Revenge- 10pm ABC

Monday, January 5th
2 Broke Girls- 8pm, CBS
State of Affairs- 10pm, NBC

Tuesday, January 6th
Pretty Little Liars- 8pm, ABC Family
MasterChef Junior- 8pm, FOX
New Girl 9pm, FOX

Wednesday, January 7th
Poperty Brothers, Season 7-9pm, HGTV
Top Chef: Boston- 10pm, Bravo
Wahlburgers- 10pm, A&E

Thursday, January 8th
The McCarthys- 9:30pm, CBS
Parenthood- 10pm, NBC
Portlandia- 10pm, IFC

Friday, January 9th
Hart of Dixie- 9pm, The CW

Saturday, January 10th
Nada



Sunday, January 11th
Shameless- 9pm, Showtime
Girls- 9pm, HBO
House of Lies- 10pm, Showtime

Geesh!  When I look at this list I look like I won't do anything ever again!
I'll be too busy watching TV.
Ha! Nah...don't start to worry.
I set my DVR so that I can watch them when I have time.
Usually it's a Sunday Marathon like it was today.

Who knew that January was when shows started?
Huh.
Probably everyone but me.
Oh well...see you all in the spring.
Just kidding...kind of.

Super-Awesome and Silly

 

Supernatural on CW

I really don't know where this show has been. 

Or really how I hadn't heard about it until recently. 

Oh wait, I don't have cable.

I don't really know any current popular shows.

Cable...

 

That's probably an important component to knowing what is popular. 

Today, I mentioned to my teenage students that I don't have cable.

The main question was, "Wait, you don't have a TV, Ms. Chambers?"

"No, I have a TV, just not cable.
I can watch DVD's or Netflix."

"Why?"

"Well, I choose not to.  I found that it's too easy to get sucked into marathons of ridiculous TV shows and waste away days. (Hello Dance Moms...sigh.)

 

 Even though I don't have cable, I still seem to get sucked into shows on Netflix. 

It just takes me a bit longer with find them.

That's exactly what happened in this instance.

In this case, I'm really behind. 

Apparently, people love Supernatural and now I know why.

 

 

The Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Supernatural

5. Family

Everyone has family.  Some families are close, some are distant. Some times situations draw families back together even after long and strained absences.  Occasionally, even when they don't want to join forces...it's necessary.  Because if you can't trust family, who can you trust.  In Supernatural, family is the one thing that unites a family...at least that's the starting point.  Over time a relationship between brothers is renewed.  To me the lesson is that family endures and protects even in battles of evil creatures.

4. Conflict Resolution
They drive you crazy, but you gotta love 'em...or at least you try to though many times it's not easy. The main characters, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester drive each other crazy, but they're brothers.  They hit each other, ask for forgiveness and move on to solve problems.  Now, I don't suggest hitting as a conflict resolution

















3. Good vs. Evil
Good wins...most of the time.  I like that.  Though there are times where I wonder how the characters will get out of the crazy situations, they do.  No matter how bad things are, I like to think that things will get better and problems will be solved.  Life doesn't always wrap things up that nicely, but when you're watching a TV show you can almost guarantee that it will have an end.  I'm only on Season 5 out of 8 Seasons, and so far good is winning....I like that.


2. Clever Plots
Currently I'm watching an episode when the brothers are stuck in TV shows. Similarly to the old movie with John Ritter, The Dish...where the family gets stuck and they have to figure out a way to live.  This episode is like that, except that they are being tricked, by what is called a "Trickster."

What I love about these actors is that they can play serious,
but they are really good at silly.

1. Humor...Speaking of Silly. 





In my family we use humor to ease stressful situations. 
It may not be the best solution to elevate stress,
but it does help. 
Dean and Sam's characters also use humor to help them through stressful moments and so do the actors.





One of my favorite episodes was in Season 4: Yellow Fever (Episode 6). Dean, played by Jensen Ackles, is generally a no-nonsense, tough older brother.  But in this episode he's scared of everything and runs away from every "bad" situation.  The best part...I mean the best part was one of the outtakes at the end...and here it is. Enjoy!

 I love silly, don't you? 

Not all of life can be serious and I definitely need a giggle now and then. 

Actually, I need to laugh every single day.

Have you giggled today? 

Yes? No?  If not, go and find your funny. 

You'll feel better.  I'm sure of it.